Oldest House
The 'Oldest House '''is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control and the primary setting of ''Control. It is an enormous, featureless skyscraper in Manhattan, New York built in the Brutalist architectural style. The Oldest House is a supernatural location that exists outside of the laws of reality, its interior capable of expanding and shifting without any regard for spatial limitations. The FBC contains and studies supernatural elements, such as Altered Items, within the Oldest House. History The Oldest House is a supernatural building located in Manhattan, New York, NY, U.S.A. It is unknown how old the building is, or whether its name bears any relation to its actual age. On August 4, 1964, the Federal Bureau of Control, a U.S. government organization tasked with investigating supernatural phenomena, discovered the Oldest House while investigating an Altered World Event case in the city's subway tunnels. The Bureau eventually converted the Oldest House into its global headquarters, developing rituals and methodologies of controlling the building's shifting nature. Soon, a stable "core" of the Oldest House was developed, where the Bureau began containing and studying Altered Items related to AWEs. In the early 21st century, the Bureau's infrastructure experienced a complete and sudden collapse, and the Oldest House was invaded by an alien force known only as the Hiss, which killed current Director Zachariah Trench. On the same day, the Service Weapon - an Object of Power dictating the Bureau's leadership - fell into the hands of Jesse Faden, a young woman with past experience in the supernatural. Jesse then began to fight back against the forces of the Hiss and regain control over the Oldest House. Structure & Nature , rearranging its structure and topography. Rituals have been developed by the FBC to control these shifts.]] On the outside, the Oldest House appears to be a featureless skyscraper built in the brutalist architectural style. On the inside, however, it is a shifting, possibly infinite supernatural labyrinth, constantly undergoing transformations, expansions, and modulations. The Oldest House does not obey the laws of reality understood by modern science, and thus, it is almost wholly otherworldly, and can expand and contract at will with no regard for spatial limitations. Alternate dimensions leak into the Oldest House through rooms known as Thresholds. Due to its surreal nature, the Oldest House's features vary from mundane to decidedly absurd, and the vast majority of the building remains unexplored. Shifts constantly rearrange the floor plan of the Oldest House, opening and closing doorways to new, unexplored areas. The actual size of the Oldest House is unknown; it is possible that, given the correct rituals and conditions, one could possibly continue traveling deeper into the Oldest House forever. The Federal Bureau of Control has developed a combination of science and ritualism in order to exert some control over the Oldest House's topography. The core of the Oldest House is a stable, relatively shift-free area under the control of the FBC. As the Bureau's global headquarters, the Oldest House is home to numerous Altered Items and Objects of Power, relics of Altered World Events which the Bureau has gathered for containment and study. The Oldest House itself is also under constant research and investigation by the Bureau. There are areas of the Oldest House which have been abandoned by the Bureau over the years as the building has slowly shifted and changed; along with the fact that it remains mostly unexplored, this results in much of the building appearing like a relic of the past, with furniture and appliances dating back to its origins in the 1960s. The FBC has also developed emergency lockdown procedures in the event of a catastrophic supernatural event inside of the Oldest House (such as the invasion of the Hiss), including lockdown of all entries into and out of the building. Topographical Features * Thresholds * Firebreaks * Shifts Trivia * The Oldest House is based partly on the book House of Leaves ''by Mark Z. Danielewski, much of which takes place in the featureless, infinite, and shifting interior of a supernatural house. Sam Lake has cited ''House of Leaves ''as an influence for both ''Control ''and Remedy Entertainment's previous title ''Alan Wake. * The Oldest House is also inspired by 33 Thomas Street, a skyscraper in New York also built in the Brutalist architectural style. The building is reportedly home to a National Security Agency surveillance facility, which ties in to the FBC as a secret government organization headquartered in a New York Brutalist skyscraper. It is also inspired by other federal buildings of Brutalist construction, such as the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C., the headquarters of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Gallery Screenshot 2 - Control.jpg|The Panopticon Screenshot 9 - Control.jpg|Altered Item containment crucible Screenshot 11 - Control.jpg|Ritual room Screenshot (710).png Screenshot (713).png Screenshot (714).png MYySX1P.jpg Screenshot (718).png Screenshot (717).png Screenshot (719).png Screenshot (720).png XKVBIEk.jpg Screenshot (722).png Screenshot (723).png 1YswWb4.jpg Category:Locations